From New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed McCabe and Savage series comes an electrifying new thriller of taut and twisted suspense.On a freezing December night, Hannah Reindel leaps to her death from an old railway bridge into the rushing waters of the river below. Yet the real cause of death was trauma suffered twelve years earlier when Hannah was plucked from a crowd of freshman … plucked from a crowd of freshman girls at a college fraternity party, drugged, and then viciously assaulted by six members of the college football team.
Those responsible have never faced or feared justice. Until now. A month after Hannah’s death, Joshua Thorne—former Holden College quarterback and now a Wall Street millionaire—is found murdered, his body bound to a bed and brutally mutilated.
When a second attacker dies in mysterious circumstances, detectives Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage know they must find the killer before more of Hannah’s attackers are executed. But they soon realize, these murders may not be simple acts of revenge, but something far more sinister.
The Girl on the Bridge is a compelling and harrowing tale of suspense that once read will not easily be forgotten.
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A really great series.
From the beginning, involving mental depression stemming from a brutal rape, through plot twists and an on-going mystery, this author captures the reader all the way to the end.
Although this is the fifth book in the McCabe and Savage series by James Hayman, it is the first one I read. I was attracted to The Girl on the Bridge by the blurb. Let me say up front, this book is better than the blurb indicates.
The prologue does an excellent job of developing the character of Hannah Reindel, the girl who apparently commits suicide in the first chapter. Her innocence and terror-filled experience resonates with recent news stories of young girls raped and afraid to report the crime. While Hannah is the linchpin that connects all the other characters, she is already dead through most of the book.
Her husband of eight years is devastated by her suicide and isolates himself from the world after her funeral. Partly feeling guilty and partly enraged by the incident that drove her to take her life, Evan struggles with the loss.
Hannah suicide may have been relegated to a sad footnote in the history of the town of Durham, New Hampshire if not for the events that follow shortly after she plunges into a freezing river just before Christmas. About three months later the story of her tragic history comes to light when detectives Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage are called to investigate the disappearance of a New York businessman in their town, Portland, Maine.
As the connections come to the surface a series of potential perpetrators are lined up across four states. From New York to Maine, to New Hampshire and New Jersey, the detectives are on the hunt. Working with police agencies in other states McCabe and Savage begin to unravel the threads of a complex plot.
This book does an excellent job of outlining police procedures while keeping sight of the suspense-filled story. The characters, living, dead and, missing, are well formed and compelling. This is a solid mystery with enough possible suspects to keep the reader guessing.
McCabe and Savage are a fascinating dynamic duo. After reading this book I plan to start over with book number one and read the rest of the series.
I enjoyed this book. It was realistic how gain rape victims never get over it and how the participants just get by but they don’t get away. They both got what they deserved but I wish the others would have been charged with there participation too.
I enjoyed this book. It is the first book i have read by this author. The book has a lot of twist and turns that keeps you interested. It touches on a subject that happens all to fruently to young women in college. I have to admit it kept me guessing till the end who the guilty person was. I recommend this book.
An engaging plot involving suicide and murder, their connection, and the motivation behind them. Little clues scattered throughout suggested who the killer was before it was actually revealed and there was a good look into the psychopathic mind at the end.
Interesting story, unexpected beginning, four stars because I figured it out about 2/3’s in. A bit far-fetched but most thrillers seem to be these days. Still enjoyed reading it though probably won’t read another in this series as the only characters I liked were the two Portland detectives.
This book kept me guessing between two characters who could have been the murderer. I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed reading this book.
Wonderful series!
Could not put it down. Had to hurry up and get to the end and then I was disappointed that it was over. Hope to find more books as good as this one.
The story was good, although tragic. It was interesting, but a bit slow developing.
Pretty easy to figure who had done it too early in the book…
Great beach read. I loved discovering the main characters and my interest is piqued to learn more about them in the rest of the series.
Couldn’t put it down. This whole series is this way.
This is not one of his better books. The plot sounded great but the execution was disappointing.
The tragedy is that college rapes still happen and are still not treated as real crimes.
The plot involves a suicide of a victim of rape and then the interesting twist of finding two of the rapists dead. Are more men targeted to die and by whom?
Hannah, the rape survivor, finally jumps off a bridge…the scenes involving her and her husband are well written and make you care.
Josh Thorne, one of the rapists, is also well written and the scene of him in a bar with Norah add atmosphere and interest..I read, turning the pages quickly, to see what was really happening. BUT from there the book falls flat as McCabe and Savage try and figure out who the killer is.
Totally irritated at how long it took the cops to investigate the house rented by Norah and the way McCabe entered looking for Josh…where was back up?? And when he is hit from behind, McCabe doesn’t follow procedure …what cop sits and ponders his next move?
And Evan Fisher is brought is as a suspect as his wife was the suicide. Also no where is it explained how the other guy,Charlie Laughlin, really was coaxed to stop his car and how did the killer get away? Amazingly, both widowed women have perfect alibis for the time the men disappeared.
I figured out the killer very early and the only times I cared was when Hannah or Evan were involved. Read his other books…..
Love all his books.
A very good read